m00t wrote on Jun 25, 2013, 12:42:What I don't know for sure is if the cookie is tied to a specific machine, made non-transferable by some technical method. (overcome if you use a custom login program because you just lie, but prevents it from being copied and used with the normal launcher)

My understanding is that it keeps an encrypted cookie (if that's the right term here I guess) locally stored to the machine, but the system still requires IP range verification in order to region lock the account. Even with the cookie stored locally the account still requires authentication if you move outside of the network range where you originally set the check file, so if you live in NY and someone tries to access your account from Oregon, for example, it doesn't matter if that cookie is there or not; it forces authentication for the account to confirm ownership.

Blizzard still denies that people with authenticators are getting accounts compromised, and just by the way the tool works it's hard to see how they're wrong. The only way I can see it not being secure is if you use the mobile auth on a jailbroken/non-rooted phone.

Kawlisse wrote on Jun 24, 2013, 22:50:heres an Idea ! Maybe you should stick to console gaming, if you ever wasted that much time to get a game going on at a lan.

I think Redmask already covered this about as nicely as possible, but seriously...prior to Steam this game was a f'ing nightmare to patch up to equivalent versions in order to play a LAN game. CoH is a great game, but its original patching system was easily one of the worst out there.

Creston wrote on Jun 24, 2013, 10:41:Does anyone actually still use Impulse? I refuse to give Gamestop a single fucking dime, even if the game on sale happens to be the best deal ever.

Creston

I tried it to buy Dead Space 3 when they had a big sale on it a few months back since I can't buy things on Origin due to some funky issue with it thinking I'm in another country than I am that I've never been able to fix.

The software to download was annoying. I bought it, but never actually got the game and then I wound up spending 40 minutes on hold to get through to someone to get a refund. I've really never seen anything like it; buy a game on Steam, you download it. Gamersgate you have to wait 10 minutes, I think, but at least there they make that clear when you buy a game. The Gamestop thing was telling me my game would be made available to me within 48 hours, which... eh. I'm buying a digital download of a game, I guess I don't expect to have to wait longer than if I buy a physical copy from Amazon.

The customer service guy I talked with was good, though, and they were helpful. It's too bad the rest of it was such a mess.

Prez wrote on Jun 24, 2013, 12:34:He is going to have tons of sympathy from a huge number of Americans - it's doubtful to my mind that he would be charged with treason, since that isn't what he commited by definition. He violated a legally-binding signed non-disclosure clause, but that isn't treason.

He wouldn't be, they're going to charge him with espionage if they get their hands on him. It's pretty much the same thing as Manning was charged with aside from the legal changes due to Manning being charged in the military where I don't think Snowden would be.

I thought it was terrible. The story is predictable, the controls are bad, and the blindly walk around pressing triangle until you find the little thing they want you to in order to continue annoys the hell out of me. I don't like stealth games, though, and this one doesn't even do it as well as games like Splinter Cell or Deus Ex but gets all kinds of perfect reviews because it was hyped up so much. I'd probably like watching someone else play it, but playing it myself is just not fun at all.

jdreyer wrote on Jun 20, 2013, 14:09:Yeah, exactly. The PS4 has six different versions, each one tracked individually, with most of them in the top 10. Stupid article trying to make a horse race out of something that's obviously a slaughter. Clickbait.

If I'm not mistaken a number of them haven't actually been available in a while now, either, so they can't outsell something that is.

As to missing Christmas, the date on it shows December 31st because no release date has been set. Supply shortages might cause some to miss, but there isn't anything that's actually been set as far as a real shipping date yet to even know for sure.

KS wrote on Jun 20, 2013, 14:18:The classes seem like standard MMO classes -- "controlling wizard"? So this "love letter to both Dungeons & Dragons and MMO fans" abandons D&D and feeds us the old EverQuest tank/heal/dps model?

That was my disappointing first impression, too.

A love letter to D&D and MMO fans, nice! ...wait, what is this. These aren't even D&D classes. There's kind of nothing like logging on to a D&D game and not being able to find a class you really like when even the generic ones aren't covered particularly well. Not that the gameplay helped by making it interesting enough to care, it's one of the most bland and generic MMO's I've played and that's saying something. It reminds me of Star Trek Online if all you ever get to play is ground missions.

It's a hard game to describe, really. It's a good game with some nagging issues, but if you go in with realistic expectations I can't see that you wouldn't get your money's worth out of it. The questing is interesting enough that you can play it as a single player game with other people around and still enjoy it. That might even be the best way to approach it, actually.

Even if you only play it for a month and then quit, at $15 that's what you'd get from most MMO's. If you play it pretty hardcore for a month you'll hit the main gripe with the game, and that's that it didn't have a ton of content when it came out; I'm not sure how much that's been fixed, but there's still plenty there if you're not looking for a 5-hour a day fix for years type of MMO.

Creston wrote on Jun 19, 2013, 18:01:As much as I'd love to say that it was gamers bitching that caused this, it really wasn't. It was places like Gamestop and Best Buy simply refusing to take Xbone preorders anymore, and actively steering people towards a PS4 (if reports are to be believed) that would have caused it. Microsoft doesn't give a flying fuck about its customers, only about publishers and retail channels.

Creston

I haven't heard of that happening anywhere, and I'm sure a company taking that stance would have been quick to hit the news.

I'd be more inclined to believe that pre-sale numbers at places like the ones you mentioned are what drove the decision instead. At least they made the decision, and made it now, rather than after release once it was too late. It's still $100 more and has Kinect strapped to it, but without the DRM restrictions that's a step in the right direction.

When asked what Xbox One could offer to win the next generation console wars, Mattrick talked about "devices and services". He added, "We've got a bunch of unique assets, starting with Xbox Live, the largest community in the world with 46 million members, we have innovation in Xbox One with our Kinect sensor and SmartGlass two great examples. We have services like Skype and the ability to drive search and internet exploration."

So if I don't want Kinect, and I don't, the thousands of dollars of value suddenly becomes stuff I either already have on other systems or can get in better forms on my PC or even my phone.

Xbox Live isn't a selling point, it's a necessity if you own the system. I can't imagine there's anyone but the most diehard MS fans that would buy it because it has Xbox Live rather than buying Live because there's no other option if you already have the system.

It's also strange that every single one of those things is of questionable value when it comes to the games themselves. Kinect isn't going to take off into the stratosphere just because they're forcing people to have it now if they want the system.